BI Interview Questions

It always helps to understand the types of BI interview questions that
can come up during the application process. Although reviewing your
resume and the requirements for the position is good, you'll want to
know about the industry and terminology as well.

For sure, you should understand the type of BI tool that is used in
the role you are applying for (Cognos, BOBJ, etc…). Many times though,
interviewers will ask general type BI questions. In general, it’s good
to also brush up on your datawarehousing, and even SQL skills. You may
get a written question to look and generate SQL.

What is business
intelligence? (I don’t think there is necessarily a right answer but
employers are looking more for your definition on the industry)

What does OLAP stand for? OnLine Analytical Processing

What is the difference between ROLAP, MOLAP, and HOLAP? Relational, Multidimensional, and a Hybrid

What is a snowflake schema? See our definition here.

What is a star schema? We have a writeup here.

How should we decide what schema to use or what are the pros and cons?

What are possible issues with using views?

What are the Kimball and Inmon methodologies? Look at our article on datawarehousing

Why
might a SQL query run slow? How do you help to figure it out? These
types of questions look to see what your problems solving methodologies
are and how you diagnose issues.

How do you approach a consulting engagement? For consulting positions, again just showing how you think and plan a project.

How
do you deal with a customer who has unrealistic demands? This can show
how you deal with a tough client, customer or end user.

What types of industries have you worked in? Some positions look for specific industry experience

What
types of databases have you worked on? What are the biggest databases
you have worked with? Some jobs require more hands-on work with the
warehouse, or specific vendor tuning.

Definitely speak to that as well as the size of datawarehouses (records, tables, etc..) Usually, the bigger the better.

What
did you like about the BI tools you have previously used? What didn’t
you like? All software has good and bad points to it. Sometimes an
employer likes to compare your experience with other tools, or get your
ideas about how software can be improved.

In addition to these, its important to have some of your own bi interview questions to ask the interviewer.